Discovering the world piece by piece.

February 19, 2017July 20, 2017

Hong Kong: To Eat

Hong Kong is all about food. We have visited many restaurants during the 10 days we had in this fabulous city. Many restaurant are open until late at night so no worry that you need be there early. Just keep in mind that the newest and trendy places are packed and that you can’t make a reservation so you probably have to wait, but then you can have some drinks at the bar. I didn’t have any bad experiences in a restaurant, food wise, and I have listed for you the most outstanding places. I was fortunate to visit some of the places with local, Cantonese speaking friends, and therefore some of the places are not your first pick when walking by but worth trying.

YARDBIRD

Yardbird is one of the newest and most hyped place in Hong Kong at the moment. Yardbird is a modern izakaya that specializes in yakitori dishes of skewered grilled chicken. We had to wait for 1.5 hours if we would have waited for a table and were offered a standing spot as alternative. Many guest were standing as well. The place is crowded but the food is probably prepared in heaven.

The sharing concept makes it possible to try many dishes and you should, everything we had was very good. The staff is very helpful and will gladly explain everything on the menu. We started our evening with a bottle of Sake and I would advise it as well. The best way to start is with a Japanese rise wine, but make sure you never fill your own class. The dished arrive at the table when ready, so your dishes do not get cold. We tried many recommendations from the staff such as the KFC, no not that one, but Korean Fried Cauliflower. Still doubting? You might even spot some world famous chefs such as Jonnie Boer (Librije, 3 Michelin starts) in the restaurant, so it must be good.

Cost: around 1,200 HKD for two, but we had more than one bottle of Sake so it could be cheaper.

G/F, 33-35 Bridges Street Sheung Wan, Hong Kong 上環33-35 必列者士街

AMBER

Ok, I’ll be honest, we got a table because a friend of my worked here. That was fortunate because this place is fantastic. It was one of the moments that you taste luxury in it’s finest. We had a 7 course lunch and this was after 5 appetizers and we finest with coffees and some sweets. I can’t even explain how good the food is, the serves is of an excellent level, which you’ll probably not find in Amsterdam. The sommelier, John, had paired the best wines with the food. At the end every part of your taste buds was tickled.

The best thing about this restaurant, next to the 2 Michelin stars and the #20 rank in ‘The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ ranking, is the Dutch chef Richard Ekkebus, because if you ain’t Dutch you ain’t much! Just kidding, but the place is truly amazing just make sure that you start saving already, make a reservation far in advance, and that you don’t have to drive after the lunch because 7 courses with wines is like watching a football game in a bar, you liver will hate you after.

Under bridge spicy crab serves as the name says a spicy crab. Of course they serve other dishes as well. Their sharing concept makes it possible to taste more than one dish. 3 or 4 dishes with two persons should be enough. The specialty is this spicy crab, well we ordered the not so spicy one but it was still spicy, as most dishes in Hong Kong. Next to the crab we had the sweet sour pork, clams (very very good) and some beans. If you have time it is a nice place to try out, and you can even go there, as we did, at 2am in the weekend and it will still be busy.

However, this is one of those restaurants that you probably wouldn’t go into if you just walk by it. The decor is not the most up to date one, and you can better not look into the kitchen till you have finished you meal. The website gives you an impression of what to expect. This place you just go to for the good food and not for the amazing serves or so, but it is still a interesting experience.

If you’re Dutch than this restaurant is a must do, because Dutch people love cheap good food. Well this restaurant is the most budget Michelin star restaurant in the world. Tim Ho Wan serves Dim Sum and it is delicious. Dim Sum is a breakfast/ lunch item so I’m not sure what time it closes, but during the day there is always a line. However it goes very quick. The host will give you a pen and paper while you’re in the line so that you can fill in your order already. The host will take the paper while showing your seat. You will receive the bill before the food is served and the food will arrive whenever ready. Tea will be served on the table, I’m not sure if they have any other drinks, we had our own water bottles and they didn’t mind it at all. The whole lunch takes less than 30 minutes but is worth it.
The food is freshly prepared in the open kitchen and tasted delicious. Make sure to try the Baked Bun With BBQ Pork. If you have many days in Hong Kong then you’ll find your self going back to this places multiple time.

IFC Mall MTR Shop 12A, Central, Hong kong

Dim Sum Square

Dim Sum Square is like Tim Ho Wan a very good Dim Sum place. It doesn’t have Michelin stars but still good food. The service is nice and you get a list on which you submit your order. The place is busy so you might have to wait outside. The service is fast and the dishes are served when ready. We visited the place with locals, they agreed that the food was very good but expensive. We paid around 400 HKD with the four of us, for local standards this is expensive for Dim Sum.

Dim Sum

Please feel free to share your experiences at this place!

88 Jervois Street, Sheung wan, Hongkong, China

Daniel’s Restaurant (Local tip!)

Locals took me to this restaurant to have a dinner. The place isn’t fancy at all but the food is delicious. The tables have a circle on top that can turn so that you can share your food. I assume that they have an English menu but I can’t be sure. The locals ordered everything for me. This could be your local experience if you’re looking for it. Most people speak English so the waiter can probably help you with your order.

Please feel free to share your experiences at this place!

17 Wood Road,
Hong Kong

Tsim Chai Kee Noodle Shop

This restaurant serves a lovely noodle soap. You can pick what kind of noodle, meat, veggies, or anything else you would like in there. Make sure to try the egg that has been boiled in soya saus, it is very good.
I called the soup Pho but this was, according to locals, completely different and I was not allowed to call it that. But it kinda tastes like it. Just don’t tell the locals that. It costed around 300 HKD for 3.